U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized almost 300 pounds of marijuana in three separate incidents on Thursday at El Paso ports of entries.

The largest of the three busts occurred at about 1 p.m. at the Paso Del Norte International Bridge, after CBP officers, along with U.S. Border Patrol agents, selected a 1998 Chevrolet Tahoe for an additional security check due to issues with the vehicle and the driver allegedly acting nervous.

A CBP drug-sniffing dog, Meri, alerted officers to a tire on the vehicle. Officers examined the tire and allegedly found that the driver had fabricated marijuana-filled metal collars and attached them to the rims of the vehicle, officials said.

The driver, Oscar Ruelas Lopez, 35, was arrested on suspicion of attempting to smuggle drugs across the border. Lopez, of Torreon, Mexico, was turned over to agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.

"The smuggling threat remains high and CBP officers are working hard every day to identify and stop all violators that use our border crossings," CBP El Paso Port Director Hector Mancha said in a statement. "The examinations and queries performed by CBP uncover drug smugglers, illegal immigrants, fugitives and other threats to our nation on a daily basis."